The Dickinson press., 1887-09-24
DUELlNG FOR FAME.


Shortly after the memorable three days Of
July, 1880, the floating population of Paris
was modestly increased by the arrival i'll that
city, from his native province, Of Symphorien
Baliveau. Tho possessor Of this singular and
not precisely euphonious ratronymic was a
young man about %, neither handsome nor
the reverse, the sort of type one meets every
day on the boulevard, and never looks Mt
twice. Such, however, was not his own opin-
ion; on the contrary, he was profoundly I'M
pressed with the consciousness of his personal
attractions, and resolved to profit by them
for the attainment of the great object of his
great ambition-notoriety. During the first
few weeks of his sojourn i'll the French capt.
tai he pondered incessnntly OH the best means
of realizing his project, and finally made up
his mind. 81 have everything in my favor, :"
he said to himself; "good looks, money and a
determination to succeed; all l want il n
short cut to celebrity, and duel will give
me that"
Having arrived ut this conclusion, NJ.
Baliveau impatently awaited III opportunity
of testing the correctness OF his ilea, which
very soon came. On the following evening,
while lie was inlulging in bavaroisc at Tor
toni's, short, spare individual, dressed ac-
cor,iins to tho latest mode, with hristling
mustachc and self satisfied air, took his
seat at an adjoining table. The provincial,
after u critical inspection of the newcomer,
rose from his chair and salutng him cour-
teously requested that lie would favor him
with the address of his tailor
The stranger glanced obliquely ut his ques-
tion. 'Whv:' hc inquired
"Bccnuse am struck with the good taste
of Your dress That green coat with the sill
Yer buttons becomes vol, admirably
"You think so1 Well, your wish can be
easily gratifiel, for l happen to havc my
tai!or's card i'll my pocket Here it is"
Extremely obliged. May nsk if you
have nlso the address of your bootmakcr!"
Certainly replied the little man, with
great s,lavity, and, tearing out leaf from
his memorandum book, he wrote Oh it the i'll
dication required and handed 1t to Baliveau.
as there anything more that you wish to
know.'
"Only this If might venture to inquire
the name Of your hatter,r
'rhat, | regret to say, am unable to give
You tonight. But have it at home, and to-
morrow morning two of my friends will have
the honor of communicating 1t to you, if you
will favor me with your address"
"With pleasure, monsieur replied Sym
phorien Here is my card"
"And hero is mine"
Nothing could be BETTER" thought Bali
vcau, as, after exchanging polite bow with
the stranger, and paying for his bavaroisc, lie
| stroled leis.ircly along tho boulevard: "im
possible to settle little affair of the kind
more pleasantly My adversary is gentle
man, there is 10 doubt of that By tho way,
may well sec who he is" Them taking
til" card from his pocket an,l approaching a
lighted shop window, he read as follows:
martini Rogue"
"Roque!" he exclaimed, starting back and
paling vsibly-"the notorious duelist, who
never misses his man, but either splits him
with thrust impossible to parry, or brings
him down with q bullet neatly plnced be-
tween the eyes. Mercy on me, what mis-
take have made, and all for the sake Of
celebrity. shall be celebrated enough to.
morrow, dare say; but what good will that
do me il am not there to see it!'
From which soliloquy it may be inferred
that n. Balivean, although hero in spe was
by no means equally desilols Of being post
llumous one.
As may he imagined, he slept very badly,
and early next morning was aroused from n
fitful slumbcr by the arrival Of his atlvcr-
sary's seconds. to whom he apologized on the
plea of his being stranger in Paris, for his
inability to refer them to his own TENNIS,
promising however, that they should accom-
pnny him to the place Of meeting. A secluded
spot in the Bois de Boulogne-in those days
less frequcnted than it is ut present-having
been agreed upon, and O'Clock i'll the after
noon proposed and accepted, Monsieur
Roqucs emissares announced that their prin-
cipnl having the choice of weapons, had Sc
lected pistols; and, this formality accom-
plished, left Symphorien to his meditations,
which were none Of the brightest While rue
fully cogitating to whom he could possibly
apply i'll this dilemma, he mechanically drew
from hs pocket the two addresses given
him by Rogue. "Thc very men l want!"
he said, frightening up; and, without mo-
ment's delay, dispatched messenger to
Messrs Staub and Sakosky, the fashionable
tailors and bootmakers of the period, request
ing their immediate attendance at the hotel
where he was staying.
On their appearance, within few minutes
of each other, he adopted the conciliatory
plan Of giving them far larger order than
| they were in the habit of receiving, even
from their most cxtravagant customers; and
when the necessary details Of measurement
had been completed, he nstonished them still
more by desiring to know the amount of his
debt, as lie wished to settle it beforehand.
With one accord they protested against the
necessity of so speedy payment, declaring
that they had every confidence i'll his solyen-
cy, and We're not i'll the slightest hurry.
That may be-" he replied; but am.
have Il duel this afternoon with Mons.
Rogue; and although am no novice in such
matters, and have brought down swallow
on the wing before now, still with SO danger
Gus all adversary one cannot he quite sure Of
what may happen"
The two tradesmen exchanged looks OF ap-
prehension. You are going to fight duel
with Mons. Roque." gasped Staub.
"If you do. you are dead man" prophet
ically chimed in Sakosky.
"The more reason for putting my affairs in
order," quietly remarked Baliveau. "Here
are 200 francs. II matters turn out badly
for me, and there is anything over, you can
account for it to my heirs
This of hand proceeding was far from
agreeable either to the tailor or to the boot.
maker. The idea of losing so excellent and
confiding customer, who actually paid in
advance before his orders were executed, was
inexpresslbly aggravating. On the other
hand, they reflected on the eventuality-most
unlikely, no doubt, but still possible-of his
proving the better shot of the two. Rogue
owed them large sum of money, and il by
chance lie should fall victim in the coming
duel who would pay their bills.
Staub looked at Sakosky, and Sakosky
looked at Staub. They understood euch
other.
Monsieur" said the latter. lin case like
yours the choice of seconds is matter Of
great Importance. May take the liberty of
inquiring the names of those about to oiiiciate
In your bebalf.'
u have uere a. yet" replied the youn.